It is known to provide tabs on variable exhaust nozzles of gas turbine engines in order to vary the area of the exhaust nozzle at different operating conditions of the gas turbine engine. These tabs are moved between a deployed position and a non-deployed position by various actuators. One known tab arrangement uses shape memory material members to move a metallic member between the non-deployed and the deployed positions, for example as disclosed in published European patent application EP1612416A1.
It is known to provide composite articles with shape memory material members but these have experienced compromises in the stiffness and/or deflection due to the different operating strains of the shape memory material members and the parent composite article. Published International patent application WO2006/046008A1 discloses providing shape memory material wires woven with fibres in a composite article.